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Total Solar Eclipse - Coming Soon!
News story originally written on February 23, 1998

There is a solar eclipse coming to a movie theater near you! Actually, this is better than a theater! This is the real thing! There will be a total solar eclipse on February 26th. The total eclipse will be visible mainly in the Carribean islands. But much of South America and the southern and eastern United States will able to see a partial eclipse.

This is NASA's chance to study the Sun's corona. The corona of the Sun is only visible from Earth during solar eclipses...so this is a unique chance! NASA will look at the Sun's corona from telescopes here on Earth. Satellites in space will be used to check these earth-based observations. The NASA/ESA SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft and the NASA/ESA Ulysses spacecraft will help verify earth-based eclipse observations. The Ulysses spacecraft is in polar orbit around the Sun right now which gives this spacecraft a "birds-eye view" of the Sun's corona. Ulysses is likely to see huge loops of material tearing away from the Sun's corona (again, we only see these from Earth during a solar eclipse). These loops are extremely important because they can cause an increase of space weather storms!

One way to view this solar eclipse is to watch the coverage on NASA TV. If you are outside during the eclipse (from about 16:00-18:00 UT), never look directly at the Sun! Here are some solar eclipse viewing tips...

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